Saiko-Pod - Phuture Remixes FLAC

As already mentioned PR ventures in house territories. Well, house with a twist. True To Nature's rework of Silent Running, Atmos' Phutures remix, and Air-Bureau's Tron remix surely have more edge than your average club house track. And damn sweet, so!

Atmos, as always, delivers class-A work. His Phutures is kept a steady, leaned back, slick atmospheric work, setting the pace for dancing & the mind for tripping. Think 2nd Brigade Atmos, only friendlier. Somehow he's able to keep things simple while at the same time creating this big flooding sensation. Best track here together with True To Nature's Silent Running and Ian-Ion's own Back To Belgium. The riff kicking in in the latter track at 2:47!!! Is it even legal to consider something this simple so great?! Well, it rocks my socks off every time even if it's only three freakin' notes!

As the title says, TNT's Silent Running is a running baby. Slick deep house bass keeping the beat, aggro lead riff, good long break towards the end and then return lead riff to save the day. House with balls! Lastly I feel inclined to mention Miro's remix which is another fine piece of work. Very housy, indeed, with a piano riff that for some reason reminds me of the piano in James Brown's Sex Machine. Have no idea why that is, but in any case, this is a sweet track I enjoy equally well at home or at the club.

To put it short, this is a rock solid album with all tracks ranging from good to damn good. A safe purchase for house conoisseurs looking for longer lasting edgy house music. Likewise progressive trance fans may very well get a kick out of this. Just beware this is more on the house side than on the trance side.

Something new from the Danish Kox-Pod guys is always welcome. But, this time it isn’t all new. Now we get an album full of remixes of their tracks on the Phutures And Options album released on Spiral Trax and Solstice Music 2002. The remixes are done by mostly other artists within the progressive house/trance style. Ian Ion and Frank E announced that they have split up. Frank is now working on the Kox Box project alone, while Ian Ion is working alone on the Saiko-Pod project. Ian Ion wants it more housy these days, and that’s for sure what we get here. This album is also released on Solstice Music in Japan.

They have obviously collected some of the most talented progressive artists to remix these tracks. First out is Okyo (dj Nicka) remixing the Wednesday track. Okyo is a very experienced Danish progressive house dj. The version he gives is a pure house track. Slower and not as drifting as progressive house/trance, but the sounds by Saiko-Pod makes it pretty trippy anyway. Not bad compared to a lot of other house tracks. Track 2 is a remix of the Groove Moderator track, done by the progressive house artist called Miro from the UK. He serves a pure progressive house track. Some of it sounds a bit cheesy in my ears, but I’m sure it will hit the progressive house crowd pretty good. Track 3 is a remix of the Magnetic Force track. Here they have involved a couple of guys who is well known in the progressive trance scene, Krüger and Coyle. They have both been in the scene for many years releasing tracks on many different projects. They will release a Krüger and Coyle album on ACDC this year too. They are going from the tripped out progressive vibes towards a more housy vibe. The version they give us here is totally housy, and to me it sounds a bit flat and boring compared to their earlier works. Track 4 gets better. This is a remix Atmos has done of the Phutures track. He holds on to the trippy, floating vibe in this one, somewhere between progressive house and trance. I have seen him play this one outdoors in the sun, and it works well on the dance floor. Totally floating track with some groovy, drifting beats. Best remix on this album in my opinion.

Track 5 continues with Danish progressive trance dj Jokke who has remixed the Two Dots track. He continues the progressive trance drift, with some stumpy beats and mystic, floating sounds. A bit noisier than the other tracks on this album. Track 6 is a remix True To Nature has done of the Silent Running track. True To Nature is a collaboration between dj Jokke and Tom Von Rosen, both familiar in the progressive house and trance scene. They give us a pretty pumping track, with some pushing beats and a funky drift. Not as trippy as I want progressive to be. Track 7 is a remix of the classic Tron track. It is remixed by Air Bureau, which is a pure house project from Sweden. They give us a typical house track, and in my ears it sounds pretty boring and flat. If you compare this to the fantastic original Tron track, this sounds really terrible! Track 8 is remixed by Souzz, also known as Miro (Steen Thottrup). He gives us a pretty cool progressive house version, with a very tribal vibe. One of the best tracks on this album in my opinion. Very drifting, trippy vibe all the way through. The last track we get on this album is done by Ian Ion himself. This track is pretty funny. He has used some really old samples that some of you who have been in the techno scene from the beginning will remember for sure. A progressive house track with many cool influences of sounds and vibes. This might be the style he will continue making. In my opinion it’s a bit sad after all those years of fantastic Koxbox and Saiko-Pod tracks, but it can come something good out of it too, like this track for example…

This album is perfect for those who likes house music and will probably fit the taste of many progressive trance lovers out there too, but I’m sure many psytrancers will dislike it, so be aware, this is mostly house music!

Saikodelic…

Highly acclaimed Danish duo Koxbox/Psychopod/Saiko-Pod has been among the true psy-trance pioneers and under their different monikers they have released some of the best stuff ever to hit the trance-floors. Hands down! In the last couple of years though, it became obvious that the two veterans had different musical visions for the future – and the intelligibly consequence of that lead to the final split of Koxbox and Saiko-Pod. They are two different entities now: Frank’e continues as Koxbox (psychedelic trance) and Ian Ion continues as Saiko-Pod (progressive trance).

Supposedly the release plans for a remix-album of Saiko-Pod tracks go back a couple of years – and now it’s finally here, released on visionary Swedish label Acid Casualties (sub-label of Spiral Trax). All the original Saiko-Pod tracks can all be found on the superb album “Phutures & Options” released on Spiral Trax in 2002. And back on Spiral Trax, here are the remixes… So let’s see what people have done with these precious gems.

Let me take you thru the tracks…

#01: [125 bpm] First up is the remix of Wednesday by Danish DJ Nicka a.k.a. Okyo and he delivers a very deep, housy version here… Pace-wise, this is about 15 beats per minute faster than the original… Though this is almost pure house, it has those progressive elements from the original… I dig the cool singing and the impressive percussion work… Nice track!

#02: [128 bpm] Miro are pretty much ‘standard’ Koxbox/Saiko-Pod remixers… They also did a remix of Koxbox’ “A Major Problem in Australia” and of course this well-known remix of Groove Moderator released last year. Since its initial release, it has been on quite a few compilation CDs – and that’s understandable ‘cause this is a damn good track! Again, this is very sexy, beach-house progressive trance – slightly slower than the original, but even groovier… So smooth, so nice… Damn, this shit ROCKS! Stellar track!

#03: [130 bpm] “Go ahead George, light it up!” … Sebastian Krüger shouldn’t need much introduction… He’s the very productive German progressive trance producer behind critically acclaimed acts such as Tarsis, SBK and Disco Slickers. Greg Coyle is the man behind London Sewer Tour, and whilst he was A&R @ Transient, he conceived the Mashed Mellow Grooves series… So it’s a couple of heavy-weights remixing Magnetic Force…Maaaagnetic Foooooooorce! (Damn, I wish they’d kept the voice sample…) This re-worked version is less progressive than the original, but easily as funky… Beach-house grooves with an epic, uplifting nature… I like the original better though! Ok track!

#04: [128 bpm] This Atmos remix was released on the Phutures 12” last year along with the True To Nature mix, and it has already been featured on a couple of compilations, so there is a chance you’ve already heard it… Anyway, Atmos a.k.a. Thomasz Balicki is one of the most well-respected progressive trance producers in the scene, and I for only thoroughly enjoyed his album 2nd. Brigade released a couple of months ago on Spiral Trax… Again, this mix is slower than the original, creating a very laid-back, funky progressive/house cross-over tune… The groove in this track is very subtle – almost introvert, but still it works wonders… Crank this baby up and mellow out! Sweet track!

#05: [130 bpm] Two Dots was one of the most pumping tracks on Phutures And Options, and surely that pumping feel is sorta intact in Jokke’s mix… I don’t know much about Jokke, ‘cept that he’s Danish and he’s one half of progressive/house duo True To Nature… Although, maintaining the sexy, beach-house summer-feel, this track seems to be somewhat grittier with a darker, more monotonous nature… Also, I think it’s a tad too long… I do like however, that Jokke kept the original sample “Cycles are boring, spirals are fun”… Yeah, that’s what it’s all about… Decent track!

#06: [130 bpm] Silent Running has been one of my all-time fav’e Saiko-Pod track since it’s initial release in 2001 – so anyone messing with the crown-jewels (!) better do a good job!... As mentioned earlier, True To Nature consists of Danish DJ Jokke and his counterpart is Tom Von Rosen, also Danish… And luckily they pay homage to the original, though with a hefty re-worked percussion part… This is another fine, pumping tune… Great, great percussion – and staying true to the original, this progressive gem is a walk down memory lane… Great track!

#07: [130 bpm] Air Bureau is perhaps better know in the psy-scene as Aircrash Bureau (Did a remix of Ticon’s Lo Mi Hi) but they also enjoy great success on the more commercial house scene… This version of Tron bears very little resemblance to the fast-paced original – I like the overall housey grooves and the acid-wannabe demented melody that is present throughout the track… Oh, and the ping-pong sounds of course… ;o) But the original is much, much better… Decent track!

#08: [128 bpm] Souzz is Steen Thøttrup from Miro – and his agenda is to “remix tracks into the more underground style of trance and tribal house inspired by the sound of Madrid”… Right, so let’s hear what Madrid can do for the tracks Phutures and Options (two different tracks, mind you)… We kick off with a smooth tribal opening… And we’re definitely in house territory… Great percussion work and the mysterious voice samples add to the overall melancholy, techy feel this track possesses… The last two minutes is pure, pure bliss… Nice track!

#09: [128 bpm] And finally Ian Ion himself… Straight outta his Star Command Studio… I’m not sure I’ve ever heard the original Back To Belgium – but it’s a track made by Ian himself… Though still progressive in nature, this is one of the trippiest tracks on this CD… The promotional text describes this as a track that “mixes new Balearic beats and 80’s techno” and that’s a fitting description… I dig the old-school electro-techno bits and the familiar melodies sprinkled throughout the track… It’s style-clash really, but when it’s done this good I have no reservations… Sweet track!

This album and most of the tracks are already hitting it big with many well-know DJs around the world… The list of well-respected ppl giving this the thumbs up is impressive: J00f, Oakie, Paul van Dyk, Digweed, Seb Fontaine, Armin van Buuren, Sander Kleinenberg and many more.

As mentioned earlier, quite a few of these tracks have already been released, so there’s a good chance you’ve heard some of them… But for CD-only-people like me, this is a welcomed chance to own them all on one CD – and they’re nicely mixed into each other, so you’ll not experience any interruptions while listening through the CD… I like most of it – there are a couple of tracks that are not exactly my cup of java, but the majority is good, clean, healthy progressive/house cross-over material… The artwork is also nice, and fits the style… And for a change, you actually get an informative booklet… Nice!

This is not for everyone however… Purists should look elsewhere, ‘cause this is highly barrier-braking material… But for open-minded fans of good electronic music, this is ear-candy! Recommended!

7.5/10

Favourites: 1, 2(!), 4, 6(!), 9